Ratings at the Root of NBA Scandal?

Small-market basketball fans, rejoice! Your conspiracy theories have been vindicated -- or at least seconded.

Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy took a stick of TNT to his former employer yesterday, claiming, in a letter filed in Brooklyn federal court, that the league has systematically discriminated in favor of teams and players who command the biggest TV ratings.

Citing specific examples from the 2005 and 2002 playoffs, Donaghy -- who was convicted last year of gambling on NBA games -- said that referees were instructed to avoid calling technical fouls on star athletes. He also alleged that refs conspired to prolong a best-of-seven playoff series in order to generate maximum revenue for the league.

All of which makes me think back to the 2001 semifinals between the Milwaukee Bucks (my team) and the Philadelphia 76ers, where the officiating was so one-sidedly awful, it caused the normally mild-mannered Ray Allen to hypothesize that the league was protecting its financial interests.

Of course, NBA commissioner David Stern says it's all hooey from "an admitted felon," and he has a point there. Still, those of us whose loyalties lie in non-top-10 markets will be hoping Donaghy can back up his charges.